Engelbert of Admont

Engelbert of Admont

Engelbert (c. 1250 – 12 May 1331), was Abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Admont in Styria.

Life

He was born of noble parents at Volkersdorf in Styria, and entered the monastery of Admont about 1267. Four years later he was sent to Prague to study grammar and logic. After devoting himself for two years to these studies he spent nine years at the University of Padua studying philosophy and theology.

In 1297 he was elected Abbot of Admont, and after ruling thirty years he resigned this dignity when he was almost eighty years old, in order to spend the remainder of his life in prayer and study. Engelbert was one of the most learned men of his times, and there was scarcely any branch of knowledge to which his versatile pen did not contribute its share.

Works

His literary productions include works on moral and dogmatic theology, philosophy, history, political science, Holy Scripture, the natural sciences, pedagogy, and music. [The Benedictine, Bernard Pez, mentions thirty-eight works, many of which he published partly in his "Thesaurus anecdotorum novissimus" (Augsburg, 1721), partly in his "Bibliotheca ascetica antiquo-nova" (Ratisbon, 1723-5).]

The best known of Engelbert's works is his historico-political treatise "De ortu, progressu et fine Romani imperii", which was written during the reign of Emperor Henry VII (1308-1313). It puts forth the following political principles: a ruler must be a learned man; his sole aim must be the welfare of his subjects; an unjust ruler may be justly deposed; emperor and pope are, each in his sphere, independent rulers; the Holy Roman Empire is a Christian continuation of the pagan empire of ancient Rome; there should be only one supreme temporal ruler, the emperor, to whom all other temporal rulers should be subject. He bewails the gradual decline of both imperial and papal authority, prophesies the early coming of Antichrist and with it the ruin of the Holy Roman Empire and a wholesale desertion of the Holy See. [ Antony Black, "Political Thought in Europe 1250-1450" (1992). p. 93, states that "Engelbert was the first to ground the argument for Empire on the new range of political arguments and concepts available from Aristotle".] The work was published repeatedly. [ First according to the revision of Cluten (Offenbach, 1610); finally it was re-edited by Schott and printed in the Supplement to the "Bibliotheca Patrum" (Cologne, 1622) and in "Maxima Bibliotheca veterum Patrum" (Lyons, 1677).]

Following are the most important of the other works of Engelbert which have been printed: "De gratus et virtutibus beatae et gloriosae semper V. Marie" [Pez, "Thesaurus," I, pt. 1, 503-762] ; "De libero arbitrio" [ib., IV, pt. 2, 121-147] ; "De causâ longaevitatis hominum ante diluvium" [ib., I, pt. 1, 437-502] ; "De providentiâ Dei" [Pez, "Bibliotheca ascetica," VI, 51-150] ; "De statu defunctorum" [ib., IX, 113-195] ; "Speculum virtutis pro Alberto et Ottone Austriae ducibus" [ib., III, entire] ; "Super passionem secundum Matthaeum" [ib., VII, 67-112] ; "De regimine principum," a work on political science, containing sound suggestions on education in general [Edited by Hufnagel (Ratisbon, 1725] ; "De summo bono hominis in hâc vitâ," "Dialogus concupiscentiae et rationis," "Utrum sapienti competat ducere uxorem" [The three works on ethics were edited by John Conrad Pez in "Opuscula philosophica celeberrimi Engelberti," Ratisbon, 1725.] ; "De musica tractatus," a very interesting treatise on music, illustrating the great difficulties with which teachers of music were beset in consequence of the complicated system of the hexachord with its solmization and mutation. The treatise was inserted by Gerbert in his "Scriptores ecclesiastici de musicâ sacrâ." [St. Blasien, 1784, anastatic reprint, Graz, 1905), II, 287 sqq.]

Notes

References

*George Bingham Fowler (1947) "Intellectual Interests of Engelbert of Admont"
*Catholic

External links

* [http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/e/engelbert_v_a.shtml BBK page (German language)]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Engelbert von Admont — (* um 1250 in Volkersdorf, Gemeinde Purgstall bei Eggersdorf in der Steiermark; † 10. oder 12. Mai 1331 in Admont, Steiermark) war von 1297 bis 1327 Abt von Admont. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Werk 3 Literatur …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Engelbert von Admont — Engelbert von Ạdmont,   Benediktiner und scholastischer Gelehrter, * in der Steiermark um 1250, ✝ Mai 1331; Studium in Prag und Padua; 1297 1327 (Amtsverzicht) Abt in Admont. Engelbert verfasste geistliche Dichtungen und in der Tradition… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Engelbert I. — Engelbert ist ein männlicher Vorname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft und Bedeutung des Namens 2 Varianten 3 Namenstage 4 Bekannte Namensträger 4.1 Herrschername 4.2 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Engelbert II. — Engelbert ist ein männlicher Vorname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft und Bedeutung des Namens 2 Varianten 3 Namenstage 4 Bekannte Namensträger 4.1 Herrschername 4.2 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Engelbert — ist ein männlicher Vorname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft und Bedeutung des Namens 2 Varianten 3 Namenstage 4 Bekannte Namensträger …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Admont — Admont …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Admont Abbey — (Stift Admont) is a foundation of the Benedictines on the River Enns in the town of Admont in Austria and is the oldest remaining monastery in Styria. It contains the largest monastic library in the world and a long established scientific… …   Wikipedia

  • Engelbert — Infobox Given Name Revised name = Engelbert imagesize= caption= pronunciation= gender = meaning = region = origin = related names = footnotes = Engelbert may refer to: People *Counts **Engelbert I, count of Berg **Engelbert II of Berg, also known …   Wikipedia

  • Engelbert — • Abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Admont in Styria, b. of noble parents at Volkersdorf in Styria, c. 1250; d. 12 May, 1331 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Engelbert     Engelbert …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Admont — • A Benedictine abbey in Styria, Austro Hungary Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Admont     Admont     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”